(Newser)
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A 42-year-old pilot was killed in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday when the single-engine plane he was piloting clipped the building where his wife works, crashed into the building next door, and burst into flames. Officials say Doug Demarest, a volunteer with the national search-and-rescue agency Civil Air Patrol, was flying alone in a Cessna 172 when it swiped a six-story office building after 6am and lost a wing. Demarest's wife works at a law firm on the sixth floor; no one was in that part of the building at the time and no injuries were reported on the ground, reports the Alaska Dispatch News. The FBI is investigating after unspecified evidence was uncovered, but a rep says officials don't believe the crash was related to terrorism. "Based on the very limited facts we have, we believe it was a personal tragedy," a rep for the law firm says.

The CAP's national headquarters says Demarest, who joined in 2010, took the CAP plane without authorization, per KTUU. Workers at Merrill Field found a hangar door open during a morning check and "there were no signs of forced entry," a rep says. Witnesses say the plane was flying low and circling the area before the crash. "It flew over us twice," says one witness. "It did a total complete turn and then boom … It was just way low." Officials and witnesses tell the AP there was clear visibility but blustery winds in Anchorage on Tuesday. A neighbor says police cars and emergency vehicles were seen at the Demarests' home after 10pm on Monday—hours before the crash. A police rep says authorities responded to a medic assist call on the Demarests' block but no one was taken from the home and no crimes had been committed.

This is another classic example of why the Homeland Security Aviation Indemnity Fund needs to be set up to pay for these kinds of damages often exceeding the insurance policy of the plane owner. This was the case for Andrew Joseph Stack III who flew his plane into the IRS building in Austin. It caused $50M in damages as they had to pretty much rebuild half the building. Since it was an act of suicide, his plane insurance policy did not pay for any of the damages. There was also the Cory Lidle case in NYC when his plane flew into a high rise condo. Some of the owners affected filed for chapter 11 because the total damages far exceeded the insurance on Lidle's plane, their insurance, and the condo structure's insurance. The Aviation Indemnity Fund would be paid by the airplane owners with a required yearly fee. The fund would always be there to pay for damages that often exceed insurance coverages or for situations like Joseph Stack that are deemed suicide and the insurer does not have to pay.

Ray

Jan 4, 2016 8:20 PM CST

"Yeah, this ought to show her."

purple6

Jan 3, 2016 9:05 PM CST

Doesn't this guy watch movies? You need a heli with a mini-gun on the side to get the job done.